Mercury News
The Giants don't have much power, they have drawn the fewest walks in the major leagues and they aren't especially good in clutch situations.
But they could miss the playoffs because they lack another, more embarrassingly basic skill: They can't get a bunt down.
Summoned just for that purpose in the eighth inning Wednesday, pinch hitter Kevin Frandsen popped up his attempt and the Giants lost 4-2 to the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park. They fell to four games behind the NL wild-card-leading Colorado Rockies, who rallied in the ninth to beat Cincinnati.
The game was a letdown after a morning that began with bright news: Tim Lincecum telling reporters that, no, the sky was not falling, yes, his sore lower back felt much better, and, yes, he expects to start Monday against the Colorado Rockies. Lincecum also probably, sadly, was the Giants' best bunter on the bench. But he obviously wasn't a candidate. Frandsen's foible was the biggest of a handful of mistakes, and once again, the Giants' meager offense didn't bring enough shovels to cover it up. Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run home run off Barry Zito and the lowly Padres took two of three — just the Giants' third home series loss out of their past 11. Frandsen failed to advance Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz, who had led off the eighth inning with walks, but the Giants still had two shots against pedestrian right-hander Luke Gregerson. Eugenio Velez struck out, and Freddy Sanchez popped up. The Giants saw more of the same on their past trip, when they were 4-for-42 with runners in scoring position and failed to execute a sacrifice. And manager Bruce Bochy all but called out his players when a reporter asked if he and hitting coach Carney Lansford should be doing more. "It's going to be up to them," Bochy said. "They're getting everything they need — information, batting practice. It's going to take guys getting hot with the bat and getting it done, bottom line." Andres Torres' two-run home run summarized the offense against left-hander Wade LeBlanc, even though the rookie entered with a 6.06 ERA. Even Bochy, who is conditioned to these kinds of games, expected more. "I'll be honest, it was frustrating today," he said. Sanchez didn't have pennant-race experience in Pittsburgh, but it's plain to him that his new lineup mates are going about it all wrong. "Starting with myself, as a team we've got to have a better approach," said Sanchez, who also struck out and grounded out twice. "I don't think we made adjustments on him, and I'm one of those guys. We've got to be better than that." Chasing borderline first pitches, playing into the pitchers' hands, failing to work deep counts — Sanchez is seeing it all for the first time. "We've got to battle," he said. "It's obvious everyone is geeked up trying to make things happen. The best thing we can do is trust the guy behind you." It's easier if that guy is someone like Gonzalez, whose home run in the third inning gave the Padres a 3-0 lead. They set up their run in the first inning after Zito failed to cover first base on Everth Cabrera's leadoff chopper. Sandoval made a lunging stop but had to hold the ball. "I thought it was foul by 15 feet," Zito said. "Bad read on my part. It's inexcusable." LeBlanc faced the minimum in five of his seven full innings; the Giants failed to score after their first two runners reached in the fourth. They wasted an identical chance in the eighth. Frandsen, a late call-up after the Triple-A season ended Monday, fouled off an attempt down the third-base line, worked to a 3-1 count and stabbed at a 90 mph fastball. Third baseman Chase Headley caught it as the crowd booed. "Highly disappointed," Frandsen said. "It's one of the reasons I'm here — to get the little things done. "... It wasn't like he was making nasty pitches on me. He threw a strike right down the middle on 3-1. There's no excuses for that." Bochy said Frandsen was the consensus pick as the best bunter on the bench. The Giants also lost a 12-inning game Sunday in Milwaukee in which Uribe popped up a crucial bunt attempt in the 10th. "It's not that easy. We understand that," Bochy said. "But we have guys who should be able to get a bunt down." From: MLB.com
 San Diego (63-78) Won 2 | San Diego 4, San Francisco 2 |  San Francisco (76-64) Lost 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 9/9/09 | Recap: SD | SF | Wrap | Gameday |
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